Octoberness

This month came and went like a fury. I can hardly believe it's over. We've been very busy.

I'm still on the lookout for ways to save money/ live more frugally.


I still overload my kids with school work. ;-)


I still love read alouds.


I still have the best kids on the planet. 

In the above picture Joshua fell off the bunkbed ladder and bruised his elbow. His brother is holding up his ice pack (that his other brother made for him) so he can take his ibuprofen.

The Holy Ghost Weenie Roast

We had a lot of fun. We met up with old friends, played games, enjoyed good food and treats, and went on a hayride.

Friday Night Livingroom Campout

The boys planned a little party for themselves. It included lots of goodies and plenty of time to play the Playstation.



Aren't they just peachy.


Kelsea even joined them much later on.

Backyard Football

Curry Coconut Pumpkin Soup

I was sort of experimenting with this recipe. None of the recipes online quite matched my ingredients.

• 1/2 Pumpkin pealed, gutted, and cubed (not cooked)
  
• 1 can coconut milk (the can in the Chinese section was cheaper than in the Mexican isle)
  
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 parts of the Golden Curry (it comes with 5 that break apart)
  
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 white onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cardamom
• crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp butter

I just needed enough soup for me and the kids. You can easily double this recipe to serve a crowd of 10-12.


 In a pan saute onions, garlic, and ginger until it starts to smell really good and onions are translucent.


Add in 1 cup of stock, can of coconut milk, butter, and curry until blended. If it seems too thick you can add more stock. It should be creamy but not as thick as gravy.


I wasn't sure how much of each seasoning I wanted to add, so after I had the base of my sauce I added in the seasonings to taste.


Then add in the uncooked pumpkin and simmer on low until the pumpkin falls apart. You can put it in the blender, but I just mashed it with a fork. It was pretty easy to do. I liked the texture this way.

Then I served it over Jasmine Rice.

My house has smelled good all afternoon from this soup. It was such a yummy blend of sweet and spicy.

An Afternoon with Shaws

It was one of those gorgeous fall afternoons. The leaves were all falling like rain. The weather was pleasantly warm.


The boys called out their friend Jake who lives next door to Nana. Jake is such a well mannered little cutie-pie.




As I was looking through these photos I was sort of shocked at how much Matt and Jeremiah look alike when they smile.


This sweet little person that Jeremiah is holding is Emily. I could not get enough of her sweetness. She almost never cries but when she does it's almost unreal it's so soft and sweet.






Emily is quite a little talker.


She was loving my camera. I had to set the iso so high to keep up with her wriggling. SO excuse the graininess of these pictures.


I'm not a fan of flash photography but the quality on this one is better even if the lighting is awkward. My little Emily is so beautiful.

October Parent/Teacher Meeting (he-he)

{or otherwise title: Talking To Myself}



Art: It's one of those things I have to gear myself up for. I'm going to focus on art this month.

• This week penciled self portrait
  
  
• Week 2 still life in cray pas
• Week 3 landscape in water colors.
• Week 4 work with acrylic paint outside.
• Week 5 we'll do a painting using acrylic paint (I'm not brave enough to let them have at the oils)

I'm excited. This will be fun!



History: We're ready to move on from King Arthur.



Math: all but Ishmael have fallen a bit behind. I need to work in some one-on-one time with each kid.



Science:...isn't going so well. I'm going to have to buy a curriculum in January. We will focus on nature studies in the mean time.



Language Arts: going extremely well. All the kids are thriving.



Geography: was set aside for a time. We want to pick it back up this week, we shall see.



Latin: going very well for most. Joshua struggles with the grammar forms and spelling. I'm thinking 4th grade is a bit early for him. He does well with the vocabulary though so for now he'll just plug along. I plan to revisit this book with him again when Jeremiah does it.



Spanish: Jeremiah has a few cd's and workbooks. He's having fun with it. He can carry a light conversation and tell you that we keep the forks in the kitchen. lol



Reading/Literature: The boys are reading through Kenny and the Dragon together. It's a very fun book. They both read 2 chapters and then I read it aloud for Jeremiah.



Jeremiah is working through the Little Bear collection.



Kelsea and I are reading Jane Eyre together.

Happy Birthday Kelsea

Well, she's 15 now. She is not your average 15 year old. She is amazing. She loves beautiful things and has a flair for creativity. She's so smart, always hungry and thirsty for knowledge. She absorbs information like a sponge.

She's wonderful with small children. When we go camping with the Cub Scouts she usually has the boys enthralled in a story or riddles at the campfire.

Her brothers look up to her. Ishmael will spend hours in her room just to be near her. They are really close. Joshua and Jeremiah are always begging her to read to them.

She has friends everywhere. She has such a warm heart. She's had some suffering in her life and I think that enables her to identify certain needs in others.

She's very sensitive and is easily hurt, but she is very quick to forgive and rarely holds a grudge.

I love my little girl. She is my right hand in almost everything. She is amazingly capable at so many things.

Wildlife Identification From our Hike

Marbled Orb Weaver


This guy did not look like a typical yellow garden spider. Plus their webs did not have a zig zag. It took me a while to identify him...or her.

Turtle:

It's really hard to tell what kind of turtle he is. Here is a link to local turtles. My friend said she thinks it's a snapping turtle...I'm leaning towards river cooter. We were too far out for a really good look though. Maybe I'll take my picture to a park ranger some time.

http://www.dpughphoto.com/turtles.htm

Fall Eno River HIke

We met up with our friends for an afternoon hike on the Eno River. The weather could not have been any better. Absolutely perfect.









Here we were in a "swampier" part of the river. There was thick sludge on the surface.


We were able to get a sample for a closer look.


We took a break to refuel. In the back ground you can see the "sludge".


Ishmael found this little guy.


Ahhh...the beauty of fall.


Further down the river we spotted this great blue heron.


Someone has been hard at work:


This was a neat little eddy.


On closer inspection of those fallen trees we found this guy:

I think he's a river cooter.

I love this picture of my little friends.


Linda was brave and held this guy for his close up. eeeewwwww!


Most people enjoy the suspended bridge. I however have bridgeaphobia.